What Babysitters are For
by PFTones3482
Summary: Candace goes to babysit one night, and she has a talk with the person she's sitting for. Thought of while babysitting...PURE FRIENDSHIP!


**Here's the one-shot that I was talking about! I wrote this on Saturday when I was babysitting and the kids were in bed. And I had nothing to do and the dog was outside.**

**I'll get back to the other story ASAP, but I wanted to put this up.**

**Just pure friendship! There is very little mention of Phineas and Ferb in here. **

**Read anyway!**

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><p>"Candace! Phone for you!" Linda Flynn-Fletcher called from the kitchen.<p>

Candace kicked her feet away from the headboard and flipped herself around so that she was sitting up. "Coming!" she yelled back.

Candace walked out of her room and down the stairs, taking the phone from her mother's outstretched hand. She placed the receiver to her ear and cradled it between her cheek and her shoulder, leaning against the wall as she did.

"Hello?" she said, examining her fingernails as she waited for a response.

"Candace? Hi, this is Mrs. Van-Stomm, Buford's mom."

Candace stumbled and grabbed the phone in her hand, almost falling over. She glanced around the house, catching sight of the clock. It was 7:30. Surely Buford was home by now.

"Um, what can I do for you, Mrs. Van-Stomm?" Candace asked, repositioning herself against the wall.

"I was wondering if you would babysit Buford tomorrow night," the woman said.

This time, Candace actually did fall over. She quickly stood up and rubbed her head, retrieving the phone from where it had fallen on the floor. "Sorry, what?"

Mrs. Van-Stomm sighed. "I know that it's a little short notice, but I have a date, and my other babysitter canceled on me because of some family thing."

Candace smiled. "You have a date? Say no more, I'll be there. What time?"

"Oh, 6:45 would be fine. Thank you so much, Candace!"

Candace grinned. "No problem."

The dial tone sounded in her ear and she slowly hung up the phone before sinking to the floor and putting her head in her hands, staring at the carpet.

"What did I just agree to?" she muttered.

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><p>THE NEXT DAY<p>

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><p>Candace sighed. After a full day of almost busting Phineas and Ferb, she picked up her purse and cell phone and headed for the front door. "Mom, I'm leaving! I'll get Mrs. Van-Stomm to drive me home if it gets to dark!"<p>

"OK!" Linda yelled from the kitchen. Her left hand was currently up a chicken, and she was thumbing through a cook book with her other hand. "Have fun, dear!"

"Right," Candace mumbled as she pushed open the door. "Because I'm going to have fun with one of Phineas and Ferb's friends."

She shut the door behind her and turned down the street to Buford's house. It only took her 5 minutes to get there, and she walked up to the front door and rapped on it loudly.

It was opened a minute later by Mrs. Van-Stomm, who was adjusting an earring with one hand. "Oh, hi Candace!" she said, almost losing the back of the earring on the floor, which Candace knew from past experiences would be disastrous if she did. "Come on in, I'll give you a quick tour."

Candace stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She set her purse down on a table in the small hallway and followed Mrs. Van-Stomm into the living room.

"OK, so I will be going to The Better Panda Restaurant with my date, and then we are going to go see a movie."

Candace nodded, glancing around the living room. She had only ever been in Buford's room, and that was just to steal a disk, but even with a quick glimpse, she could tell that it was much better kept than the rest of the house.

The furniture in the living room was ratty and old, and it all looked second hand. The paint on the walls was peeling, and the carpet was old and worn through. Candace followed Mrs. Van-Stomm into the kitchen and glanced around as she explained food privileges. The dining set was small and only seated three comfortably, and the dishwasher and refrigerator were old models. Candace focused back on Mrs. Van-Stomm as she continued speaking.

"Candace, what do you charge an hour?"

Candace looked up at the woman. Most parents paid her ten dollars an hour, but from the way Mrs. Van-Stomm was looking at her, it was clear that the woman wanted her to give a lower price. "Um, like five dollars."

Mrs. Van-Stomm visibly relaxed, and then perked up as a car horn beeped outside. "Oh, there's my date! Buford's upstairs, thank you so much, Candace!"

Candace held the door open as the woman darted out to the car in the driveway, and she shut it as Mrs. Van-Stomm.

Candace headed for the couch and then paused, glancing up at the ceiling. Buford normally wasn't this quiet. After a moment's hesitation, Candace found the stairs and ascended them quietly. She reached the top and glanced at the doors, identifying Buford's room right away, if the "Bully's Only" sign on the door was any hint.

She walked up to it and knocked on the door carefully. "What?" came a harsh voice from inside. Candace jumped back, startled. "Um, it's me, Candace. I just wanted to know if you were, like, hungry, or anything."

There was a moment's pause, and then the door opened and Buford stood there, glaring up at Candace. "Yeah, I'm a little hungry."

Candace smiled hesitantly and gestured towards the stairs. Buford scowled and went ahead of her down the steps. They walked to the kitchen and Candace stopped in the doorway, glancing around, unsure of what to do.

Buford sighed in annoyance and headed for the fridge. He pulled out packages of bacon, tomatoes and cheese. He tossed them onto a counter and grabbed some bread from the bread box. Candace watched in amazement as the bully spun around the room, throwing the bread onto a griddle and slicing tomatoes with ease. Less than 5 minutes later, Buford presented her with a grilled cheese, bacon, and tomato sandwich. He saw her expression and glowered at her.

"Pick your chin up off the floor and come eat," he said, heading for the table.

Candace shook her head in disbelief and followed the boy over to the table. She sat down and Buford handed her one of the plates. She picked up the sandwich carefully and took a bite. Her eyes widened and she looked at Buford in surprise.

"Buford, this is really good," she said in delight. Buford glanced up and a smile flickered on his face, disappearing almost as soon as it formed. "Thanks," he grunted.

Candace dug into the rest of her sandwich and it was gone in a matter of minutes. She sat back and looked at Buford, who was surprisingly still eating his sandwich. "You're not a bad cook," she said finally.

Buford shrugged. "It's just grilled cheese," he said, before ignoring her once more.

Candace sighed and glanced out the window. Trying to fill the silence, she looked up and smiled. "I'll bet your mom is having fun on her date."

She immediately knew she'd said the wrong thing. Buford's eyebrows narrowed and the last few bites of his sandwich fell to his plate. He scraped the chair back and stomped away without a word. Candace winced as she heard a door slam, a motion that rattled the whole house.

She bit her lip and stood up, placing the rest of Buford's sandwich in the fridge and rinsing her plate in the sink. She put the plate into the dishwasher and then headed for the stairs. She paused at the bottom.

"Come on Candace, you can do this," she muttered to herself. She walked up the stairs slowly and all too soon was standing in front of Buford's door. She raised her fist and knocked softly on the door.

"What?"

Candace blinked in surprise. It sounded like…nah, impossible. "Buford, can I come in?"

"Whatever," came the mumbled response.

Candace turned the doorknob and walked into the room. Buford was lying face down on his bed with his head buried in his pillow. Candace walked over and sat down gingerly on the bedspread.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Buford looked up and glared at her. "Nothing."

Candace raised an eyebrow at the sight of his face. "Then why were you crying?" she pointed out gently.

Buford sighed and his look softened. He glanced away. "You wouldn't get it."

Candace pulled her legs up onto the bed and tucked them under her. "Maybe I will. You won't know if you don't spill."

Buford looked up at her and then back down at his comforter. "It's just…I don't want Mom going on dates."

Candace raised her eyebrows. "Why on earth not?"

Buford clenched the blankets in his fist. "Because, my dad might come back!"

Candace drew in a slight breath. She vaguely recalled that morning when Mrs. Van-Stomm had come over, crying. Her mom had taken the woman aside, and all Candace had gotten out of her mother was that Mr. Van-Stomm had left Biffany and Buford. She had been 14 at the time, so she had forgotten about it as the months had gone by.

She looked back down at Buford. "Buford, even if he does, would your mom take him back?"

"Yes!" the boy cried. He then paused and looked out the window. "Maybe." He sighed. "No. No she wouldn't. He hurt her…a lot. I just don't want that to happen again."

Candace smiled. "I know."

Buford looked up at her and his glare returned. "How could you possibly know?"

Candace sighed. "Buford, my dad walked out when I was really little. Phineas never even knew him. He was almost a year old. I was 6. I thought it was the end of the world when Mom started dating again. But it wasn't."

Buford looked at her, his eyes rimmed red. "It wasn't?"

Candace shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "No. She met Dad that way-my _real _dad. And that's how Phineas and I got to know Ferb. So, it wasn't a totally bad thing that he left. It just took some getting used to."

She stood up and headed for the door. A large hand grabbed her wrist and held her back. Candace looked down at Buford and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"So, I should give Mom's dates a shot?"

"Of course," Candace said, smiling.

"But…" Buford bit his lip. "What if they hurt her? Should I tackle them?"

Candace chuckled and sat back down. "Dude, you have got to stop the tackling nonsense. One day, you're going to seriously hurt Baljeet with all of your practicing. "

Buford grinned. "What do you mean, one day?"

Candace snorted. "Look, if you're really worried about the guy your mom's dating, talk to your mom about it. She'll understand."

Buford sighed. "I just want her to find the right person, ya know? When Dad left, he pretty much took everything with him. Mom has to work two jobs to keep up the house."

Candace glanced around the room. "Then how is your room so high tech?"

"Phineas and Ferb made most of this stuff," Buford whispered.

Candace looked at the bully and realized that he hated accepting charity from people, even close friends like Phineas and Ferb. "They did?"

"Yeah. I never did thank them."

Candace smiled, stood up once more, and ruffled the boy's hair lightly. "They know that you're grateful. You probably don't need to tell them. Now come on, it's getting a little late. Why don't you get ready for bed?"

Buford nodded and started to shove Candace out. He thought better of it, and simply held the door open.

"Night, Buford," Candace said as she headed for the stairs and her currently un-opened copy of _The Hunger Games_.

"Night! Oh, and Candace?"

Candace turned back, her hand resting on the railing. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening to me," said the bully with a sheepish smile.

Candace grinned and shrugged. "Hey, that's what babysitters are for."

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><p><strong>It is. You are not a very good babysitter if you don't listen to the kids.<strong>

**So, I don't own **_**The Hunger Games**_**….I mean, I have the first book, but yeah…..**

**I always wondered what Buford's past was like, and I figured that this would make for an interesting story. **

**R and R!**


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